Bag With Flip Pocket

ABSTRACT

This invention pertains to the design of bags with integral pockets, called flip pockets, located preferably on the outside of the bag frame which easily permit storage, transport, control and use of a personal mobile communication or entertainment device without necessarily having to remove the device from the flip pocket.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/676,902 filed on Jul. 28, 2012 and is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional application No. 13/952,670 which was filed on Jul. 28, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to the design of bags with special pockets which facilitate the simultaneous storage, transport and use of a personal mobile communication device in practical, day-to-day application. Existing bag designs generally provide only storage for such devices and may require removing the bag from the shoulder, placing the bag down and/or removal of the device from the bag before or during its use, either for communication or connection of headphones for personal entertainment. In many instances the device may be difficult to locate within the bag since it does not have a dedicated, functional pocket; and the device, once outside the bag, is generally more susceptible to loss or theft. An invention which provides a means of gaining quick and easy access to the device, without necessarily having to remove the device from the bag, is highly desirable and useful and also reduces the risk of misplacement or loss of the device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The “Bag with Flip Pocket” is a bag designed with one or more special “flip pockets” which may be located anywhere on the bag but normally located on the bag's outside frame. Flip pockets may be designed to fit any type of bag.

The flip pocket is designed to hold any device sized to fit inside the flip pocket while the pocket remains attached to the bag and swings open outward and away from the bag, preferably in a downward or sideways direction but may also open in any other direction.

In one preferred application, the flip pocket is designed and sized to hold wireless devices which are most commonly controlled by touch-activated display screens or control buttons. Examples of such wireless devices may include but are not limited to: mobile telephones, especially those commonly known as a “smartphones,” mobile digital media players for music, video or videogames, and mobile computing or communications devices commonly known as a “tablets” or “pads.”

The utility of the invention is that the flip pocket allows direct access to the device and its touch screen, allowing the device to be conveniently viewed and used, for example while making or answering phone calls or using a headset or earphones attached to the device, without having to first remove and hold the mobile device and while the bag may still be strapped over the shoulder of the user. The mobile device remains hidden, secure and safe within the flip pocket and the possibility of misplacement of theft of the device is reduced. A simplified design of the flip pocket also allows quick and easy access to the mobile device if the user wishes to remove it from the bag while being used. To the best knowledge of the inventor, a bag design featuring such a flip pocket with the described features is not available in the marketplace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 illustrates the invention along with a description of each element of the flip pocket design and also shows one application of the invention involving the connection of a wired headphone assembly with the flip pockets.

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified flip pocket design and application which allows quick and easy access to the mobile device if the user wishes to remove the device from the bag while in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The design of the flip pocket is an integral part of the overall design of the outside frame of the bag. The flip pocket, or flip pockets if more than one, will be sewn into the bag or attached by other means during manufacture using materials and techniques commonly known to those in the industry and skilled in the art.

The outside frame of the bag illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown with two flip pockets, one flip pocket in the opened position with a mobile device stored in it and the second flip pocket designed as a cover to fit over a separate storage pocket. Either flip pocket may be designed with cutaways or holes to permit, when the flip pocket is in the open position, easy access to the controls of the device such as volume or touchscreen controls, ear phone receptacles or other connection points on the device such as sockets for headphone wires which can be passed through to the storage pocket. The device is held in place by its insertion into the flip pocket and may be further secured by straps across the device. If straps are used, they are designed and located close to the top and/or bottom of the pocket such that the screen or controls of the device are not obscured.

When the flip pocket is used as a cover it may be placed in the closed position by means of any suitable closing or locking mechanism commonly used for bags and known to those in the industry, such as a magnet or a latch.

In FIG. 2, the flip pocket design is shown simplified for applications where the user wishes to remove the mobile device from the bag when it is to be used and the ability to use headphone or earphone accessories for listening or talking while the device is in the bag is not necessarily required. The illustration shows a single flip pocket which can be easily and quickly opened or closed to either remove or store the mobile device. In this application the mobile device is also not necessarily attached to the inside of the flip pocket but is placed between the flip pocket and the storage pocket. When in the closed position, the flip pocket may be preferably designed to be flush with the bag frame for aesthetic reasons. 

1. A unique pocket called a “flip pocket,” as described in this document, designed to hold, by any means, any device sized to fit securely inside the flip pocket and which does not obscure or obstruct viewing of the device's screen or use of its controls while the device is transported in the flip pocket.
 2. Any type of bag with one or more flip pockets designed to securely hold and provide easy access and use of portable personal “smart” mobile devices commonly controlled by touch-activated display screens or control buttons, including but not limited to mobile telephones, mobile digital media players for music, video or videogames, and mobile computing or communications devices commonly known as a “tablets” or “pads” and where the flip pocket is located anywhere on the bag but normally part of the bag's outside frame and the flip pocket is opened outward and away from the bag, preferably in a downward or sideways direction but may also open in any other direction and where the flip pocket may be closed using a suitable closing or locking mechanism on the bag such as a magnet, latch or zipper.
 3. Any type of bag with at least two flip pockets and a storage pocket where the first flip pocket covers or fits into the storage pocket and the second flip pocket holds a personal mobile device and where headphone wires or other plug-in accessories that are stored in the storage pocket are passed through special holes in the storage pocket or any of the flip pockets and plugged into the personal mobile device and where the device can remain in the second flip pocket after connection and during use of the headphones or other plug-in accessories.
 4. Any type of bag with at least one flip pocket and a storage pocket where the flip pocket design is simplified to primarily act as a cover for the storage pocket and may or may not be fitted with slots for headphone or earphone connections to the mobile device, the mobile device is stored within the storage pocket when the flip pocket is closed, and the mobile device is quickly and easily either removed for use or replaced for storage and transport. 